SOAS Research Online

Abstract

Up to the present a separate study on al-Junayd has not been undertaken, although his personality and his thoughts are outstanding in Islamic Mysticism, as everyone who is versed in this subject is bound to know. If the study of Hallaj, a pupil of Junayd, has attracted the attention of Orientalists - to mention Massignon's remarkable studies - it is an obvious task to shed light on a personality which has largely formed the ideas of succeeding. mystics, one of whom was Hallaj. A detailed study of Junayd reveals that he has been the central thinker of early Islamic Mysticism and that his ideas are much more balanced, well-grounded and systematic than what is known of the thoughts of his pupil Halaj. Thus in the first part, devoted to Junayd's personality and life, I have tried to draw a picture of his origins, his environment, his studies, his way of trading, and his style as a writer; also of his teachers, his friends, and his pupils re 'resenting the Sufi School of Baghdad. I have given a critical survey of Junayd's writings, preserved and not preserved, sifting the works attributed to him and separating all those that are genuinely his from the pseudo-epigrapha. In the second part I have tried to give the main doctrines which form the system of Junayd for the first time from his original writings, so that the result I was able to achieve may mean a new contribution to the study of Islamic Mysticism. 2.EDITION OF JUNAYD'S RASAIL. I have tried to edit the text of the Rasail from the manuscript, correcting it where necessary. It was a difficult task as the author writes a rather enigmatic style, sometimes not easy to understand. Junayd, in fact, speaks a special language, often trying to hide the meaning. He writes in an elevated esoteric style which is difficult to follow until one becomes accustomed to it. One has to be well-read in mystical literature to comprehend it. 3. TRANSLATION OF THE RASAIL. But the most difficult of all the tasks has been to put such a text into English - an English that would make sense. Confronted by this staggering difficulty, I have tried with all my strength and according to my ability, to do my best to put these seventeen risala into English, and to make the reader comprehend the thoughts without losing, at the same time, the atmosphere and the spirit. For this reason I have sometimes given a free translation. Sometimes I had to supplement a few words. I have made only the most necessary notes in order not to disturb the reader, nor to interrupt the sequence of the language.